Premio Combat Prize

The sculpture Solstice hangs in the air, like the moon or a celestial body, held by the cloud-like form of rawhide. It turns on a thread of monofilament so one sees both a dark side, which is wrinkled like the landscape of the moon, and a light side, which is shiny and reflective. Light and dark are two sides of the same coin. One can see oneself in the reflective surface, but not in the dark.

Driscoll has devoted herself to making art full-time since 1970. Originally trained in art history at Smith College, she worked as a curatorial assistant in Asian art at Yale University Art Gallery before studying fine art at Silvermine College of Art. Early paintings and drawings focused on the human body, followed by years of hand-papermaking, creating abstract paper collages with strong textural and physical presence.
A keen interest in the body and the physicality of materials led Driscoll to forge into new territory by making tactile sculptures, investigating touch as a way of knowing. Initially designed for people with visual disabilities and made of sensuous, durable materials such as wood, stone, steel and rope, the works invited people to touch them. The fascination with sensory perception recurs in her work to this day. In addition to her studio practice, Driscoll is a member of Sensory Sites, an international collective based in London that generates exhibitions and installations exploring multi-sensory perception.
During a residency in New Mexico, Driscoll discovered rawhide, a powerful, malleable material with organic qualities that evoke human and animal life, death and transformation. Driscoll combines rawhide with various materials, including neon, light, and video, often collaborating with filmmakers to project moving images onto translucent materials, transforming both sculpture and image. Her current work engages water, as found in nature and as an expressive element, in collaboration with Springs Stewardship Institute in Arizona.
Driscoll has exhibited widely at national and international venues, and is represented by galleries in Boston, Massachusetts; Nancay, France; London and Shanghai. She lives and works in Haydenville, Massachusetts.